Some people think it can't be done,
but I'm gonna show you how to create a calorie deficit without counting
calories.
Hi, it's Ivana, helping you get fit healthy and strong at any age.
A calorie is a unit of energy. So whether or not you're tracking those calories,
you need to create a calorie deficit in order to achieve fat loss.
So whatever diet that you've been following,
if you've managed to lose weight on it,
you've lost weight because you are in a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit means that you're burning off more calories than your body
needs to sustain itself. Your body will take that energy from your fat stores.
If you're taking in more calories than you're able to burn off,
then you're in a calorie surplus and your body will store the excess as fat. And
maintenance is when neither of those things are happening.
You're taking in and burning off the exact amount of calories that your body
needs to sustain itself the way it is. First,
I'll start with ways to reduce your calories in.
So these are methods by which you can naturally consume lower calorie foods or
consume less overall in order to reduce your calorie intake without actually
having to count anything at all.
These are the kind of strategies I use day in and day out because I don't like
to count calories. I haven't tracked and monitored my calories for years,
really.
And now it's just a matter of following certain habits that allow me to
maintain the weight that I'm at. Reduce your intake of highly processed foods.
So many people will call these junk foods.
I prefer to call them treat foods because I prefer that positive connotation.
But it's stuff like baked goods or fast food burgers, fries,
donuts, and muffins. A lot of people like those. Chocolate and ice cream,
where you're getting the mix, the sugary creamy taste. A lot of them,
we call hyperpalatable foods because they have that mix of fat and sugar.
That really is appealing to us in terms of flavor. Now,
having some highly processed sugary fatty foods once in a while is not a
problem. And in fact, I recommend that my clients keep in those foods,
that they really,
really enjoy. At least have them in smaller quantities and less frequently than
they currently are. The reason for that is simple.
And it's not just because of health, primarily for weight loss.
The issue is that they're very calorie dense.
So you've got a lot of calories packed in there and they're very easy to
consume. If you think about a bag of chips,
you could probably eat the whole thing.
I used to be able to eat one to two tubs of Ben and Jerry's ice cream at a
sitting. So you're talking about 600 to 1200 calories,
and I'd already eaten a normal amount throughout the day.
So it's something you need to be aware of.
It's very easy to consume a large amount of calories when they come in the
highly processed refined form.
Now the converse of that is increasing your fiber intake. Foods that have more
fiber, take a little bit more energy for your body to digest,
but they also tend to be more satisfying, more satiating.
So if you're having higher fiber foods,
they fill you up a little bit more so that decreases your appetite later on.
Appetite management is a big part of weight loss.
So especially when you're not tracking and monitoring your calories.
And you're just trying to adjust your appetite in order to eat fewer
calories.
You need to be mindful of things that are going to increase your appetite and
things that are going to decrease your appetite.
And one of those things is high fiber foods,
specifically increasing vegetables and fruit can be very useful.
Partly because of that fiber reason,
but also because fruits and vegetables are very low in calorie density.
So if you fill up on vegetables, you have a lot less space for other things,
things that are higher in calorie density.
Increasing your protein intake can also be an important part of appetite
management. If you have protein with your meal,
it tends to increase the feeling of fullness.
It keeps your blood sugar from going out of control,
which happens in some people,
but not all. So that you don't develop cravings later on,
that are gonna cause you to overeat and consume more calories and get yourself
into a calorie surplus. So it's not that certain foods can't be consumed.
It's that eating a certain way is gonna help you manage your appetite and reduce
your cravings. Now, if you choose leaner meats and leaner cuts of protein,
you're also reducing the calorie intake. If you're having a big fat steak, yes,
you've got protein,
but you've got a lot of fat in there and quite a lot of calories all at once.
If you're looking at something leaner like white fish, like cod or haddock,
or the old staple chicken breast,
you're gonna find that the protein is high, but there's very little fat.
So you're not adding as many calories overall.
That's not to say that you don't want to have higher fat items because managing
your fat intake is also important. If you go very, very low fat,
then you're gonna find that your appetite increases and then you're gonna be
more likely to eat more and crave more things.
And that means you may binge and overeat on your favorite
highly processed refined foods. So when you look at each meal,
it's useful to start with the protein. And whether that's your lean meat,
some vegetarian sources like tofu, edamame,
lentils beans can provide protein as well,
but keep in mind that you're adding some carbs and additional calories as well.
Whereas the meat sources, the lean meat sources of protein,
you're gonna be adding almost exclusively protein.
So you start with that protein. And that's the base of your meal. For women,
I tend to say about one palm- sized amount as a serving. For
men, two palm-sized amounts. So that's gonna be adjustable based on your size.
If you're a small person, you have a smaller palm,
therefore you don't need to eat as much protein.
So you don't have to think about it too much.
You don't have to measure very carefully,
but you'll have an idea of what serving size fits. Now,
once you've got the protein covered, you wanna throw in tons of vegetables,
ideally, a cup of vegetables or a fist size amount of vegetables for women.
Two fist size amounts of vegetables for men in a meal.
And then maybe you're adding in one tablespoon of some kind of oil,
perhaps olive oil. That's about 120 calories.
If your protein source is not that lean.
So if you were having a ground red meat, for instance,
then you might not wanna add an additional fat source because you've already got
some fat there. If you're having a chicken breast and a bunch of vegetables,
then you wanna add probably one tablespoon of oil,
just to keep things in balance for that meal.
Now eating that way tends to keep your appetite under control.
And that means you're less likely to be searching around those cupboards later
on trying to find a snack,
that's going to add more calories to your day.
It makes it easier to stay in a calorie deficit because you're keeping your
appetite reasonable.
Another tip for creating a calorie deficit without counting calories is to drink
water before meals.
It's been shown that having a glass of water just about eight ounces of water
before a meal,
approximately half an hour can help reduce your calorie intake at that meal.
Because you have that slight sensation of fullness.
Making sure to stay hydrated can be helpful for a lot of people.
Some people when they get dehydrated, tend to feel hungry.
Not everybody. Not having enough water can cause headaches or fatigue.
So you definitely wanna make sure that you've got a reasonable intake, Drinking
no calorie or low calorie beverages can also help you to get
into a calorie deficit. Many people drink coffee,
but then they put tons of cream and sugar in it.
So it becomes a very high calorie item and it can almost replace
a small snack. But if you actually drink just coffee straight,
it has very few calories. The same with tea. It can keep you full.
I personally like to drink tea throughout the day and I feel like it keeps me
from snacking. And it gives me something pleasurable to do during the
day. So I'm not always searching for food.
Swapping out your soft drinks or juices for water or low calorie,
plain beverages like coffee or tea can be really helpful for getting you
into a calorie deficit.
Now I've talked a bit about appetite and I think it's really important to get in
tune with your hunger.
A lot of times we eat out of boredom or when we're stressed or anxious,
this is completely normal. And I'm not saying you should never do that.
It's going to happen occasionally.
But many times we're eating almost all of our meals,
just out of routine. And we don't pay attention to whether we're hungry or not.
Why we're eating this particular food.
Why we're eating this particular quantity of the food.
And it's often helpful to pay attention to those cues in order to reduce your
calorie intake, try to figure out why you're choosing the foods that you are.
Are they comfort foods? Do you have some sort of history?
Can you have a smaller amount of this food? Can you have it less frequently?
All of those things will help to reduce your calorie intake.
Portioning your food can help you get into a calorie deficit without doing any
counting. Eating out of bags or boxes or tubs,
particularly when it's treat foods that you enjoy is really easy.
It's hard to figure out how much you're eating and it's very easy to consume a
large amount, but portion size doesn't just apply to treat foods.
It also applies to healthy foods, especially things that are healthy,
like nuts, but are very calorie dense.
A quarter cup of nuts is generally around 200 calories.
Now 200 calories might not seem like a lot,
but most people don't eat that quarter cup. When they're having nuts.
Many people will have a half a cup and they won't even notice.
And that'll be 400 calories that are easily consumed.
I have measuring cups at home. So if I'm having a portion of nuts,
I put it into a quarter cup serving.
Then I know it's a reasonable amount for my body size and calorie intake.
And now I'm gonna explain some ways to increase your calories out.
So most people think of a structured workout plan,
something that you might do at the gym, whether that's weight,
training or cardio.
But there's a lot of other ways to incorporate physical activity into your life.
You don't wanna start to go crazy and start working out two hours a day in the
gym because that's not practical and sustainable for most people.
You wanna incrementally add your physical activity and see how your body
responds. Now for general health and strength and just feeling good,
especially as you get older,
I recommend two to three weight training sessions week.
And that burns a certain amount of calories. Not as much as cardio at that time,
but there is a little bit more calories burned after the exercise.
It's something we call EPOC.
It burns off more calories after you've done the activity.
30 minutes of cardio two to three times a week is also a good thing to
add into your plan.
And I personally think that it doesn't matter that much what you're doing. Your
heart actually doesn't care as long as you're getting your heart rate up.
And that's how you're burning off your calories.
Find a form of physical activity that you enjoy and do that.
So whether that's cycling or martial arts or long
boarding or Zumba, it doesn't really matter.
As long as it's something that you enjoy and that you're gonna keep doing.
If you push yourself a little bit harder,
you can burn more calories or you can go for longer.
You don't always have to do a highly intense workout in order to burn a lot
of calories. You can just do a longer session.
And for many people that's particularly appropriate,
especially if they've come from being sedentary.
Walking is an excellent way of burning off calories regularly.
It's practical and accessible for virtually everybody.
It is useful to just move around more.
The more that you're getting up and moving around,
the more calories you can burn off.
There's also something called NEAT: non-exercise activity thermogenesis.
And that's the general movements that you're doing.
Even just moving my hands around during this video,
I'm burning off more calories. That's a small contributor to calorie burn,
but it does help to pay attention to how much you're moving.
I often notice because I work from home that if I don't set a timer to force
myself to get up,
I will just sit in front of that computer for long periods and I won't be
burning off any calories. And I'll start to feel really sluggish and lethargic
over the course of the day.
So periodically moving around can make a real difference.
And if you've ever measured this,
you'll actually see the difference in how many steps you're taking and how many
calories you're burning just by getting up and moving around.
So getting into a calorie deficit without counting is certainly possible.
You can affect both your calories in and your calories out.
Just try a little bit from each side at first and then track and monitor
your progress. Let me know in the comments,
what you are doing to get into a calorie deficit. Please hit the like button,
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